Easter and Spring Crafts for Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Kids

Is it already Easter time?  That was fast.  Luckily I have a few crafts up my sleeve, so we’ll be calling this the Spring/Easter bird and flower crafts because I realized that’s all we did these last few days. 

As always these crafts are suited from 18 months and up, depending on how much parental help is needed.  As for egg cartons, I prefer the cardboard type as they are easier to color, using crayons, markers and color pencils.  But this time I did the crafts with a Styrofoam egg carton, which can only be colored on with crayon and some pressure.

 

Coffee Filter Carnations

(I like “tye-dying” coffee filters because they look neat and the boys like to do it.  You can make plain white flowers or just color them with markers.  The boys enjoyed this craft quite a bit.)

Things you need:

{     Coffee filters

{     Markers

{     Smock

{     Water

{     Paint brush

{     Green pipe cleaners

Have the child color three coffee filters with the markers to make one flower.  When the child is done coloring, have him/her paint the coffee filters with water.  When the coffee filters are dry, take the filters and fold them, squish them together to look like a carnation.  Twist the pipe cleaner around the bottom of the “flower.”

 

Egg Carton Tulips

(These seem to be everywhere in the craft sites, so I decided to try them.  Evan had a lot of fun making them, but he preferred white tulips rather than coloring them.  I think they might make a nice bouquet for grandma.)

Things you need:

{     Egg carton

{     Scissors

{     Crayons, markers, colored pencils

{     Glue

{     Green pipe cleaners

Cut the egg carton into little cups.  For young children, have them color the egg carton before you cut out the details to make it easier for them to color.  Cut upside down triangles of the open end of each side of the cup to resemble a tulip shape.  Punch a whole in the bottom of the carton for the pipe cleaner.  Have the child color the flower.  Push the pipe cleaner through the hole and make a knot at the end.  Add a dab of glue to the cup to keep the pipe cleaner from slipping.

 

Paper chick

(I had a vision of a cute little chick, so we made these.  The boys had a lot of fun making them.  They especially liked showing Daddy.)

Things you need:

{     Yellow construction paper

{     Orange construction paper

{     Any other color construction paper

{     Two traceable circles, one smaller than the other (I used two different butter tub lids)

{     Pen

{     Scissors

{     Glue

{     Googley eyes (optional)

{     Brown yarn (optional)

Using the circles, trace two circles on the yellow construction paper, one for the head, one for the body.  Cut out a diamond shape out of the orange construction paper for the beak.  Fold the diamond in half to form a triangle beak.  Have the child glue the body and head onto the other sheet of paper.  Have the child glue googley eyes or draw eyes on the head.  Have the child glue the beak.  For extra fun, cut a long piece of yarn and have the child tangle it up.  Glue the tangle of yarn underneath the bird to make a nest.

 

Pom-pom Chicks

(I’ve always adored pom-pom chicks because I thought they were so cute, but I realized it would be a few years before we could handle something as delicate as an egg shell.  So I decided to use a plastic egg shell, and Evan especially loves having his chick “hatch” because he has the top part of the shell too.  I wonder if they would be great surprises in an egg hunt.)

Things you need:

{     Plastic egg

{     Two yellow pom poms (We used the 1 ½ in pom poms)

{     Two googley eyes or black beads

{     Orange construction paper or craft foam

{     Glue

{     Scissors

Cut out a small triangle out of the orange paper for the beak.  Have the child glue the first pom pom in the bottom of the plastic egg.  Then have the child glue the second pom pom on top of the first, creating the body.  Have the child glue the eyes and the beak.

 

Rock-a-bye-Birdies

(I thought this was the cutest craft ever, but it had those pesky blown egg shells.  Well, never mind, I used plastic eggs instead.  Evan loved it so much I never got around to putting on the ribbon before he took off with his, naming it Pumpkin.  So ribbon is optional.  The boys loved making them and playing with them.I found them on this site: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12151)

Things you need:

{     Egg carton

{     Plastic egg

{     Tissue paper

{     Googley eyes

{     Orange construction paper or craft foam

{     Scissors

{     Glue

{     Ribbon

Cut a small triangle out of the orange paper for the beak.  Cut a strip of tissue paper to wrap around the bottom of the egg like a blanket.  Poke a hole on either side of the carton and tie the ribbon to it, making a swing.  Have the child glue the tissue around the egg.  Have the child glue the egg inside the carton.  Have the child glue the eyes and the beak.

 

 Check out more Easter crafts here.